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Utmost Good Faith &

Warranty in Nigerian Insurance Laws:

A Critical Review

 

By

Emilia Anagbogu-Ezenwa PH.D (Wales)

 

ISBN: 978-1-909154-82-7

 

Price: €125.00

 

 

About the Book:

 

 

This review is the first detailed study of utmost good faith and warranty as enshrined in the Nigerian insurance laws. The in-depth analysis of utmost good faith and warranty may provide a useful reference for academics, research students, the legislature, legal commentators or practitioners, and the insuring public as there is paucity of materials and academic work in this area of insurance. Academic work and government effort seem to concentrate on regulation of insurance practice rather than on the insurance contract. This book will therefore be beneficial to the insuring public to fully understand the nature of these important insurance principles in Nigeria. It is also hoped that this effort could stimulate further research.

 

Justice Anthony Igu (ret.)

Supreme Court of Nigeria

 

 

 

 

FOREWORD

 

The common law system is dynamic in nature, and has proven itself to be a robust system of law that can meet the evolving needs of society in many fields, none more so than in the field of insurance law.  In this book, which grew out of the doctoral thesis Dr Anagbogu wrote while at University of Wales, Bangor under the supervision of colleagues Zhen Jing and Aled Griffiths, we see how Nigerian insurance law can certainly benefit by adapting key common law insurance principles into the areas of material disclosure and warranties.

 

The comparative elements of this book are particularly commendable, as they demonstrate how Nigerian insurance law, currently undergoing reform, can benefit from how the common law and legislation of England and Wales have dealt with these difficult questions over the decades.

 

We commend Dr Anagbogu on her industry in studying these complex questions that arise in the Nigerian context, and observe that her work highlights issues that require further study and legislative attention, which, apart from the expansive comparative coverage given to international jurisprudence on the topic, is in itself a most important contribution to scholarship in this area, and no doubt will contribute to the reform of Nigerian insurance law which, as the author has established, is now well overdue. Transplantation of legal concepts from one legal system to another is often an uncertain course, with unpredictable or undesired outcomes, but in this instance, the case appears to be convincing and the comparative analysis clearly suggests that the Nigerian legal system and insurance practice would benefit from the reforms suggested in this work.

 

 

Professor Dermot Cahill

Head

School of Law

University of Wales

Bangor, United Kingdom

 

 

PREFACE

 

A major problem facing students in Nigerian insurance contract law today is the scarcity of textbooks which they can carry home, read, and understand. Given the abstract nature of the discipline, it is desirable that students should, in addition to having access to library books, also possess their own books. Introductory texts on the subject are hardly available on the bookstands and in open markets, and imported ones are too scarce, too expensive, and often too abstract to be readily understood. It is primarily to address the above problem that this book is written. Effort has been made throughout to present the subject matter in a relatively simple language in order to encourage both lawyers and insurance practitioners for whom this text is intended. The general reader who is curious to understand what insurance contract law is all about will also find it very informative.

 

The book is made up of five chapters. Chapter One provides an overview of the book, with Chapter Two giving a historical perspective of insurance practice in Nigeria. Chapters Three and Four provide a detailed perspective of utmost good faith and warranty in Nigerian insurance contract laws, highlighting areas of urgent need of reform. Chapter Five concludes the effort with recommendations for reform.

 

I cannot conclude without expressing my indebtedness to my lecturers, particularly Prof. Dermot Cahill, Dr. Zhen Jing, Aled Griffith, Penny Downey, and Anwen Evans of the School of Law of the University of Wales, Bangor for teaching me insurance law and giving me moral support and understanding during my doctoral studies. I am grateful to Rear Admiral Anthony Isah, my Commandant, for the study leave granted to me to pursue further studies in the United Kingdom. I shall never forget your great support and mentoring. A big thank you is due to Major General Idris, my former Deputy Commandant for his encouragement in my academic endeavours. Thank you to the Commandant National Defence College, Rear Admiral Agholor, for granting me a release for post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Wales, Bangor. My friend and boss, Air Vice Marshal KG Lar, thank you very much for your encouragement in scholarship. For Committee members, Squadron Leader Istifanus, Sister Rose, Tina, Onwii, Chibuike, Peter, and Odochi, I say a big thank you for all the late nights at work to make sure this book is a reality. Prof. Van Niekerk of University of South Africa, I thank you for your invaluable advise. To my patient friend, editor, and proofreader, May Rosales, I thank you specially. To Michaela Proetsch, Monika Weidinger, and Manuela, I wish to equally thank you for your great support. Words are insufficient to express my gratitude to Prof. Dennis Campbell also for his great support. To my parents, Prof. and Prof. Philip Anagbogu, I wish to thank you for your encouragement in my academic endeavours.  I also thank Prof. Joe Irukwu for his kindness and making scarce expensive insurance materials available to me at no cost, to Justice Anthony Igu of the Nigerian Supreme Court (rtd) for his kind time and support in putting me through, and to Justice Aloma Mukhtar, immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, for her kind time in discussing the initial draft with me. Many thanks are also due to the authors of the books listed in the references whose works have enriched the quality of the text. None of the people mentioned above can be held responsible for any weaknesses found in the book.

 

Ezenwa-Anagbogu,U.E.

October 2013